On Valley Edition: Learn2Earn; Parks; Fresno Film Festival

This week on Valley Edition, we talk about the new program called Learn2Earn, the future of parks programs in the cities of Fresno and Bakersfield in an era of tight budgets, and learn about the upcoming Fresno Film Festival.

Valley Edition for April 24, 2012:

Segment 1: Learn2EarnA new program called Learn2Earn aims to help Fresno residents gain important skills necessary to get a job. On this segment of Valley Edition host Juanita Stevenson talks with Linda Davidson from Learn2Earn and Douglas Den Hartog from Heald College about how participants can get assistance in obtaining their GED and other job training.

Segment 2: ParksThe struggling economy has forced local governments to find new ways of providing services to residents, and local parks and recreation departments have been especially hard hit. On this segment of Valley Edition we compare how the cities of Bakersfield and Fresno are dealing with this issue. Fresno City Council President Clint Olivier joins us to talk about the city's plans for new parks, including the Martin Ray Reiley park near Highway 180, the Adopt A Park program and plans for new parks tax districts to support parks maintenance. And Dianne Hoover, Director of Recreation and Parks for the City of Bakersfield tells us how her department is using corporate naming sponsorships and volunteer sports groups to keep local park facilities maintained.

Segment 3: Fresno Film FestivalThe red carpet comes to Fresno's Tower Theatre this weekend for the 8th annual Fresno Film Festival, presented by the group Fresno Filmworks. The organization's program director John Moses joins us to talk about this year's lineup and what attendees can expect at the festival.